Last week we were actually away on a little family holiday. We took a road trip up north to visit my husband’s family. They have a large property which is simply beautiful this time of the year.

We spent most of the time outdoors – helping with the yard work, fixing things, making bonfires, visiting the beach, taking walks. It was incredibly relaxing and refreshing. I didn’t touch a computer once!

This is a little barbecue fire we made out of some old bricks and a discarded grill we found. We walked to the cute country town shops. We bought sausages, eggs, onions and buns. We made a little fire with sticks we gathered. And we made the most delicious hotdogs ever!

(If you look close enough, you might see our names on the sides of the barbecue, scrawled with the burnt end of a stick.)

With the Perth Fashion Festival approaching, I’ve been in the mood to hit the shops and buy some new pieces for my wardrobe, in particular, clothes by Australian designers.

My favourite for my shopping trip was Alannah Hill. I’ve been a big fan of hers for ages! I just love her super-feminine designs, colours and textures.

I fell in LOVE with this polka dot silk cami. I was standing in the change rooms thinking, oh my goodness, it will go so well with all the skirts in my wardrobe, all my jeans and all my pants. My clothes will welcome it with open arms as an excellent addition to the family. But it was priced around $300 I think (I didn’t get the exact price).

The sales woman was fantastic. She paired the cami with this lovely silk ruffle skirt, with two-toned details that peeked through when you walked. Loved it! But again, it was around $350 (I think). Ouch.

I tried on some other pieces – a gem detailed silk blouse, and a pink floral dress.

It’s a quirky little shop in the city, crammed full of clothes, accessories, jewellery, designer gift items and other super cool things you can’t find anywhere else – I instantly fell in love with it!

I had the pleasure of chatting to owner Johann Kim, who was such a cool guy! The shop opened less than a year ago, and it stocks over 600 local and international brands of STUFF.

Johann constantly travels all over the world, scouring, sourcing and buying all the cool bits and pieces for his shop. It sounds like so much fun and it makes me so envious!

Even though Pigeonhole is in the Perth City mall area, it might be a little hard to find. So be sure you grab the map from the website. It’s at the very end of a very weird and wonderful arcade, and indeed it has a very pigeonhole-like charm!

Things were much easier this time round. I knew how the procedure went. I knew the doctors and the nurses. I knew where to stand, where to sit, what to sign, where to lie, what to expect, how long to wait.

I was very relaxed and I had a good feeling about it.

I know it sounds a bit silly, because you can’t really trust your feelings on these things, but nonetheless I was very happy and peaceful. I felt balanced. That, either way, life will still be great.

1. Sift flour, sugar, cocoa into a large bowl.2. Mix in butter, egg, milk, walnuts, and berries. Combine well.3. Spoon mixture into greased muffin pans.4. Bake in 180C oven for 20 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

Note: I think 1/3 cup of castor sugar is enough for little kids. The muffins taste mildly sweet with a nice tang from the berries, which is fine if you’re topping the muffins with chocolate icing or sweet yoghurt.

But if you prefer your muffins to be a bit sweeter on their own, I suggest you use 1/2 cup of sugar. Enjoy!

They are absolutely obsessed with all things SPORT – in particular the idea of racing to see who will be the champion. It seems that they are rather fixated with WINNING.

And while I’m trying to tell them that “Sport is not all about winning”, they will sit in front of the TV and imitate all the athletes and their Gold Medal Reactions – that is, all the air punching, arm pumping, whooping and cheering, big smiles and jumping in the air. It’s very funny.

In fact, they have been imitating everything they see on the Olympic channel – from the athletes who cry when they win, to athletes who shake their heads in distraught, to those who curl over with muscle injuries, to those who hug their team mates.

It’s strange to think that my children are learning these “sporting behaviours” from the sporting champions themselves.

My dad went to a State Olympic Team Event and came home with two souvenir Beijing medals. Of course the boys were thrilled out of their socks.

I’m always left with a happy glow after listening to them. Sometimes I even have to pull over in my car because I’m laughing so hard, and I just need a few seconds to breathe.

Hamish and Andy are two, very popular Australian comedians, who are basically two young, goofy guys, who talk about all kinds of crazy stuff.

In my opinion, I’d say that their comedic style is a classic example of young, modern Australian comedy. It’s down-to-earth, random, fast-paced, witty and the guys are too charming.

Their humour is not cringe-inducing, it’s not TOO in-your-face, not TOO intellectual, and not TOO stereotypical-Australian. It’s just great “everyday Aussie humour”.

So if you’re not from Australia, and you’ve never had the chance to listen to “everyday Australian humour”…

Hamish and Andy are currently in Beijing providing a radio commentary on the Olympics, China, sports, Australian sports people, life in the Olympic village, other random Chinese things, like karaoke bars and cooked frog bowels etc – I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

I admit, it might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but hey, give it a go.